Actor Georgy Shtil spoke in an interview with Prozvezd about the moment she first encountered singer Vladimir Vysotsky. The recollection centers on a visit to a Moscow theater to see the play Good Man from Sezuan, where the artist happened to be in attendance as well. In the theater foyer, Shtil met Vysotsky and Valery Zolotukhin for the first time, and she admits that she did not immediately recognize them. She humorously recalls almost getting into a fracas after joking that she came from St. Petersburg.
I flared up, she says, letting out a shout that she planned to put the Muscovites in their place, and she even grabbed Vysotsky by the neck. The guitarist, startled, urged her to stop, laughingly saying he was only joking. After that tense moment, she returned to the auditorium to watch the performance. Then, as the show progressed, Vysotsky and Zolotukhin appeared again on stage, with Vysotsky holding a guitar and Zolotukhin an accordion, a scene that marked a memorable chapter in their early acquaintance. (Citation: Prozvezd interview).
Later on, Shtil crossed paths with Vysotsky again on the set of Gennady Polok’s Intervention, a project in which both were involved. She reveals that their professional relationship evolved into a friendship on the film set, a rapport that continued as long as Vysotsky lived. The singer passed away on July 25, 1980, leaving behind a legacy that peers and fans still discuss with reverence. (Citation: Prozvezd interview).
In the wider narrative of Vysotsky’s life, other colleagues have shared their own memories of the artist’s circle. Previously, actor Stanislav Sadalsky described how Lyudmila Abramova reserved what he called an inconspicuous place in Vysotsky’s life, suggesting the complexity and quiet depth of relationships around the singer. These reflections collectively sketch a picture of a vivid, sometimes unpredictable artistic world that surrounded Vysotsky during his years of activity.